Steps Apart
by justsukiya
Summary: She’s terribly sick. Thank goodness, he’s there to help. Who knew? SeiferOC
1. Chapter 1: Lost and Trapped

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters. I simply own the characters that I created, Ceri.

A/N: Story takes place after the game, assuming that Seifer has been back at the garden permanently for some time now.  
Meant to be a nice simple scene; a little Christmas piece.

Enjoy~

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_Chapter 1 – Lost and Trapped_

She blew her nose. Ten seconds later, she needed to blow her nose again. _I hate this!_ It was Christmas, and nature decided to bless Ceri with a special sort of gift – an infuriating cold. She had already used up one whole roll of toilet paper in order to clear up her nasal congestion (tissue paper was too thin), but all efforts seemed to be futile. It simply would not empty out, and the disgusting liquid just kept clogging up her nose as if she was its enemy!

_Why did this have to happen now?_ She was supposed to be out there celebrating with those crazy friends of hers and torturing her stomach by jamming it in with great food! Instead, she was being tortured by her own nose. Her throat was also starting to feel funny to her. _All of this had to happen on Christmas. With my immune system, it'd be a miracle if I can heal over night._ She didn't even do anything prior that would cause her to catch this. _Can this get any worse? _

Ceri had been trying to read the magazine in front of her for at least ten minutes now, but she was constantly interrupted by the motion of unrolling more toilet paper, clearing out her nose, and throwing the crumbled, filthy particle into the garbage bin next to her, which was starting to get full again.

Her nose's physical condition wasn't any better. It had already been so scuffed up by the rough texture of the tissue that it was quite red with skin beginning to peel off. In a way, Ceri resembled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, only more painful. Although, she doubted that his red nose would hurt or that he needed to put lotion on it to keep it from hurting.

As much as she wished to put lotion on her cursed nose, she couldn't possibly do that without blocking her already miniscule method of breathing. Even if the cream did not bother her, each time she blew her nose, which was becoming increasingly frequent, it'd come off, and then the substance would be mixed with what came out. The combination was simply too dreadful for Ceri to deal with.

"ehhhhh…." Ceri dragged out, thinking that perhaps if she voiced her pain that it'd go away. It didn't. If anything, her nose clogged up again. _When will this stop? It didn't feel this way last time I got sick, did I? It wasn't that long ago either…Someone needs to help me change this garbage bin. I don't want to move! I wonder if he's done in the kitchen yet…_

She turned in order to look in the general direction, but all she saw was an occasional flicker of blond hair and body movement. As she moved a little bit more to try to see exactly what was going on, she heard a loud shout of "Ah! Damn it! freaking…" and other mumblings of the sort. However, just as she was about to move from her chair, she was hit by a dizzy spell.

"Knock, Knock!!" Selphie shouted as she pounded on the door. "I know you're in there, Ceri! I come bearing gifts!"

"…'oming…" Ceri said while reluctantly getting up to let the hyperactive girl in. She really didn't want to deal with anymore visitors now, but Ceri knew that Selphie was probably here since she couldn't make it to their Christmas dinner…potluck…party…or something along those lines. She really didn't want to process anything at the moment.

"Oh Ceri…" Selphie said at the sight of her sickly friend as she entered Ceri's dorm. "Sit! Sit! I'll put down the presents here by the table! I was just dropping by to see how you were. I'm so sorry that you're sick! You're going to miss out on so much at our…" Selphie continued, but Ceri was no longer listening.

Ceri was trying to best of her abilities to blow her nose without being rude, and it was proving to be a very difficult task. She tried to simply wipe the annoying fluid off, but it was only worsening the conditions of her philtrum, what with the rough brushing of the toilet paper and all.

What's worse was that the longer she was sitting there, the dizzier she got. Not only that, she was starting to feel extremely cold as if she could sense her body temperature lower by degrees within minutes. Then, sometimes it would go back up, but she still felt extremely cold. Her entire hand was cold with the tips feeling like ice. _This is so bad…Help, please…where are you…?_


	2. Chapter 2: Step on Her Shoes and in His

_Chapter 2 – Step on Her Shoes and in His_

As if answering to her silent pleading, a loud sound of utensils dropping came from the kitchen followed by a sharp shout of "Shit!" Selphie stopped whatever her rambling was to turn to Ceri and asked, "What was that? Who's in your kitchen?"

Ceri simply shrugged; she no longer had the energy to form words.

"O well, anyways, how are you feeling, Ceri?" inquired Selphie.

"…i….an't…eeeff"

"What was that?"

"….i…an't….beeeefff, an…I…old…n…zz…!"

"You aint beef and you're holding what??"

"She can't breathe, and she's cold and dizzy!!" Seifer yelled as he emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of soup and crackers. Selphie and Ceri stared at the scene in shock. Or at least Ceri would have been if she was actually present in her mind. Currently, she was phasing in and out of reality and whatever the world sick people collapsed into.

Seifer being inside Ceri's dorm was indeed very odd to Selphie. Although she knew that Ceri and Seifer were on talking terms, she did not know that they actually spent quality time together, at least not in a personal dorm. Not to mention, Seifer apparently was cooking in said quarters, most likely for a sick Ceri! Something fishy is definitely going on here!

"Hey…now wait a minute, Ceri. What is he doing here, and Seifer, you cook??" questioned Selphie.

"I don't know, Selphie…I don't know…" Truthfully, Ceri did know, but her attention was now focused on the tray in front of her offering her comfort food and Seifer's hands making room on the table by collecting all her scrap papers and magazines.

Selphie then looked to the person now placing the spoon in Ceri's pale hands, expecting a satisfying answer; after all, he wasn't sick, and he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing with her friend.

"Look. Don't you have some kind of Christmas dance or whatever you have to go or something? Shouldn't you get going?" Seifer threw the question coolly at Selphie and chose not to voice his thoughts about leaving Ceri in peace. He knew that the wheels in the chipper girl's mind were already turning in ways that he did not want. He could try to correct their paths, but currently, Ceri was his main concern.

He watched the pale girl as she fumbled to use the spoon and lift the hot soup into her mouth. Her raven hair now only exemplified her fragile state with the contrast of her light skin. Her eyes were spaced out while staring at the contents in the bowl. Seifer knew that she was suffering the early and worst symptoms of the cold, and Selphie's high-pitched, cheerful voice was probably not the remedy to her illness.

Quickly, Selphie exclaimed, "Oh no! That's right! I was just going to drop off Ceri's gifts and then meet Rinoa and Squall by the stairs! They must be waiting for me right now! Bye Ceri! Bye Seifer!" She then whispered not so quietly, "We'll finish this talk later." And with that, she gave an enthusiastic wave and ran out Ceri's dorm door.

"That girl never stops, does she?" Seifer quipped, returning his attention to the sick patient. She nodded a bit and went back to trying to drink the hot soup. Seifer broke a piece of cracker and dropped the pieces into her bowl. She looked curiously at him, and Seifer's reply was, "Soup goes better with crackers. Fills you up more." Again, she gave him a mere nod and directed her focus to the food in front of her. Ceri barely had an appetite and had not consumed much of the solids.

Seifer wasn't much of a cook, but when he discovered from Ceri that she was sick and was not making herself food or taking medication, he knew he had to do something. He had called her earlier meaning to ask her of her plans for Christmas and found out through the phone conversation that she caught the cold, probably the night prior, but was already suffering under the symptoms so badly that she lost the will to do anything. The next thing she knew, he was at her door, demanding to use her kitchen and having her rest somewhere; as long as she was resting, that was enough.

He had cooked her canned chicken soup. There was not much in her kitchen. If there was something edible, most likely it was some sort of chips or other unhealthy snacks. So, after several minutes of digging, he finally found a few cans of chicken soup suitable for her to eat. The good thing was that he also uncovered a pack of crackers hidden underneath the piles of marshmallows and chocolates.

Seifer was in such a hurry to make her food that he had cut himself with the opened can lid. Those things were sharp and dangerous when they wanted to be. Soup didn't take too long. All he had to do was put it in the pot and wait for it to boil.

He then tried to rearrange the tray with all the essentials for Ceri to start her meal, a spoon, bowl, and crackers. As he attempted to do so, he had neglected the boiling pot, and in his hurry to take care of the readied food, he had knocked the whole tray down. Hence, the loud noises of commotion coming from the kitchen.

The two were quite close actually. She could understand him when he talks with his mouth stuffed with food, and he understood her words even if she was mumbling to escape his questions. It was no wonder that he deciphered what Selphie could not from Ceri. What made him angry was that Selphie, clearly knew and saw that Ceri was in no condition for company, continued to talk uncontrollably and asked Ceri unnecessary questions.

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A/N: Thank you for all you visitors and my reviewer! ^^ I really do appreciate your response~~  
Seifer's finally in the picture~~ Sorry if he might seem a bit OOC. I tried my best to keep him in character!


	3. Chapter 3: Walk Away

A/N: Thank you reviewers for all your support! I really do appreciate it! ^^ I understand that it is difficult to get kind comments back, but seeing your comments do give me the courage to go on! Thank you~

_Chapter 3 – Walk Away_

Ceri was tired; her mind and body seemed to be in separate worlds. She doubted that she could process any of her surroundings right now. All she knew was that Seifer made her food and attempted to help her ease her pain. She looked to her side at her companion and saw that he was also deep in thought. _Wonder what's on his mind… I bet he's thinking of how he's going to escape this without getting sick. _

"Seifer…use Esuna on me! do cure! anything! make it goo awayy…!" she whined, ending her request with a loud blow of her nose.

He chuckled. _How dare he chuckle…!_ "It doesn't work that way, peachie. You know that magic don't heal colds."

_Darn…_she thought.

"Just finish the soup, take your meds, and rest." Seifer said in an uncharacteristically soft way.

"Fine…" Ceri grumbled while glaring at her creamy yellow bowl that supposedly promised "the best chicken delight."

It was awfully sweet of him to try to make her a decent meal during her time of weakness. Goodness knew that she would never have done it herself; she would have just lied in bed and willed for her body to get better while a mountain of dirty tissue paper would pile up by her bedside.

_Thank heavens that Seifer decided to come today and not stay away from me…It's nice to have him here for Christmas. Were we supposed to spend time together today? Probably at the thing that Selphie is holding…Oh yeah, does he want to go? Oh no! His present is still hidden in my room! _

"Seifer," she started as she put down her spoon after finishing her bowl of soup.

He handed her the pills and a cup of water. "Here. Take."

Ceri complied, and after she was done, she tried to begin again.

"Seifer, did you want to go"

"No Ceri. No, I don't want to go to that stupid thing that that happy girl was hosting. And, no, I don't have presents for anyone. Just rest your voice and stop thinking."

"But, I need to give you"

"Give it to me tomorrow or when you feel better or something." He stood up suddenly, grabbing the bowl and everything else on the table, and continued to the kitchen.

_I guess that's the end of the discussion…I can't believe he didn't even let me finish my sentences! Maybe I do need some rest…I'm starting to feel dizzy again. Isn't medicine supposed to help? _

As she felt the tiredness overpowering her, Ceri brought her head down and laid on her arms to get a short powernap in before Seifer came out of the kitchen; at least that was her plan. Her brain tired to fight the drowsiness that was rapidly consuming her, causing her to drift in and out of consciousness, but it was a losing battle to begin with.

Her brain no longer listened to her desire to stay awake and felt that it was stupid to do so in the first place. "Stupid humans don't know what's good for them," it thought. Hence, Ceri allowed her eyes to stay closed and allowed the sandman to take her away. _Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream, bum bum bum bum…_

_

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Deprived from the song Mr. Sandman. Sang by The Chordettes and later by Blind Guardian.


	4. Chapter 4: Quiet Steps

A/N: Here is the end to this little story about Seifer and Ceri! It's a sweet little scene, my favorite in fact! This was meant for Christmas~ I can almost feel the holiday spirit again! Enjoy! Thank you for all your views! ^^

_Chapter 4 – Quiet Steps _

When Seifer finally emerged from the kitchen after washing the dishes, he gave a soft smile as he took in the scene in front of him. Ceri was sleeping on her arms with the occasional sniffle coming from her nose. It was quite cute. He chuckled to himself, when did he ever use the word "cute" to describe anything? That girl did wonders to him.

Gently, he approached her and carefully picked up her feeble body. Never had he seen her in such a delicate state. Ceri was always such a kind yet extremely cynical and stubborn girl who always promised Seifer a good banter now and then. In the times he'd known her, an opportunity to be truly alone by her side during a time of such vulnerability never occurred to him. _It's not his fault that he was such a busy person. People can't do anything right without him around._ _Did she ever get sick anyways? _

Seifer shook his head to throw out the useless thoughts. It really wasn't the time to think of such things. Did he care about her? Obviously. Did he like her? He looked at the girl in his arms and knew that he indeed…had no idea.

Such were the mysterious and indecisive ways of a young man's mind. Never knowing clearly what it was that he wanted and never accepting whatever it was that he needed. Seifer gave a mental shrug; he didn't see what the big deal was. He had a lifetime ahead of him, filled with chances to discover and fulfill whatever dreams he possessed. Meager questions like those should not be of his concern to answer.

_Ohh, but you already know the answer, don't you?_

…_Shut up…_

_Touchy, touchy. Didn't anyone tell you that denial is the first step towards acceptance?_

…_I am NOT in denial!_

_Now, as your conscience, I think I would know if you were in denial, and I have to say that_

_GET OUT!!_

_Fine, fine. Don't know what she sees in you anyways~~_

…_what? she? who? _

…_(silence)..._

"Wonderful," Seifer mumbled to himself. "Even my conscience is an ass." He let out a quiet laugh as he placed Ceri gently on her bed and pulled the covers up to tuck her in. Seifer gingerly took out a small box from his coat and placed it on her bed stand. It was a tiny little thing wrapped in glistening blue paper and tied with a simple white bow, but it had taken him quite some effort to pick it out.

He sat down on the mattress next to the sleeping girl along with a pile of magazines on a chair besides him. A part of him truly hoped that she would be thrilled once she opens her present or at least be appreciative of his thoughts for her. An imagined scene resided in his mind, but he dared not let his imagination go wild and his expectations rise too high.

With a slight turn to his side, Seifer smoothed out the strand of hair that had fallen onto Ceri's face. As if instinctively sensing his close proximity, her body curved towards his presence, seemingly seeking further for his comfort and warmth; he was more than happy to comply. One of his arms held her to his side while his other hand turned the pages of the magazine currently on his lap.

It was such a peaceful Christmas day. Although it was not how he had planned to spend the holiday since he had intended to whisk her away on the dance floor and dazzle her further with his naturally blessed charms, it was more than what he'd ask for. Enjoying the calming air of the Christmas' spirit and the presence of his sleeping beauty, Seifer looked over at Ceri and smiled to himself again. _Hopefully I'm not going to go through all the other steps to reach acceptance. No way in hell was he in denial. _

_Merry Christmas._


End file.
